Sinn Féin - On Your Side

The Sinn
Féin MEP for Midlands North West and the party’s spokesperson on TTIP, Matt
Carthy, has said he was extremely pleased with the meeting he held with SIPTU Healthcare
representatives in the European Parliament this week.

During the meeting Mr. Carthy and the SIPTU
representatives discussed the potential negative implications of the proposed
EU-US trade deal, TTIP, the upcoming EU-Canada trade deal, CETA, and the
inclusion of undemocratic Investor Court mechanisms to be included in both.

Speaking
after the meeting, Matt Carthy MEP said,

"As
the trade deal between Canada and the EU, which is known as the Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) looms closer the campaigns to halt both it
and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US need
to be strengthened.

"All
sections of society need to be made aware of the implications of these
potential agreements particularly the very dangerous inclusion of Investment
Court mechanisms which have the potential to undermine public services,
environment standards, workers' rights as well as the right to public ownership
of strategic infrastructure and services. As it stands, due to the secrecy of the
negotiations at EU level and the failures of the outgoing Government to defend
Irelands interests, Irish people have been largely kept in the dark on these
important matters.

"Therefore
I very much welcome the proactive engagement by the trade union movement as
evidenced by the SIPTU Healthcare representatives who travelled to Brussels
this week to learn more about trade developments. I was delighted to welcome them to the
European Parliament and to outline Sinn Féin’s position that we will not
support any trade deal that includes unnecessary and undemocratic Investment
court provisions or that are not in Ireland’s best interests.

"Despite
the serious nature of the discussion and the potential disastrous implications these
trade deals hold, it was a really positive meeting. The SIPTU delegates were extremely well
informed and are a credit to the workers they represent. We agreed that we would work together on
these matters and challenge the new Irish government to protect Ireland’s
interests during the course of the negotiations and to inform the Irish public
of the details of TTIP & CETA.

"I, along with my Sinn Féin colleagues in
the European Parliament, the Dail and the Stormont Assembly have been front and
centre in the campaign against the regressive EU trade agenda and we now look
forward to working with organisations such as SIPTU to heighten opposition
across the island. We want to develop a
fair, progressive, economically sustainable trade policy that benefits everyone
in society. The campaign to the end must
intensify in the coming weeks and months."